


Abandon Ship

by Autumn_Llleaves



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms
Genre: Angst, Breaking the Fourth Wall, Drama, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:21:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26827291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Autumn_Llleaves/pseuds/Autumn_Llleaves
Summary: On her way to join Stannis in King’s Landing, Melisandre learns something that has life-changing consequences for her and the Baratheons.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	Abandon Ship

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Would That She Would Cleanse Me](https://archiveofourown.org/works/8195651) by [LadyTP](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyTP/pseuds/LadyTP). 



“Your Grace.”

“Huh?” Selyse opened her eyes, annoyed, to see that Melisandre was gently shaking her awake. “Oh! Lady Melisandre! Forgive me!”

She hurriedly stood up. It was still nighttime, and Melisandre’s face looked deathly white in the complete absence of light. Or maybe… Selyse was gripped with sudden anxiety. Was her companion pale because of some grave news?

“Lady Melisandre, what happened?” she dropped her voice to a whisper. What if there was some danger lurking outside? “Is anything the matter with Shireen? Or with His Grace?” her husband was still many miles away, but what if Melisandre had found out some threat to his crown?

“I do have bad news, Your Grace, but they aren’t quite of that nature. His Grace and the princess are safe,” Melisandre hesitated for a while, a rare sight. “We are… not in the world we believed to be living in.”

Selyse stared at her:

“Not in the… Does it have anything to do with… you know… the darkness?”

“No, Your Grace. It is extremely hard to explain… This world… this entire world…” Melisandre gestured around Selyse’s cabin. “It is a _derivative_ world. At some place, at some moment of time, our world split from its original self and began living its own life. A lesser life.”

Selyse didn’t grasp the meaning of half of the words. Was this something new about R’hllor? Anyway, she kept listening intently. She knew she’d understand eventually. And even if she didn’t understand, Melisandre did, and that’s what counted.

“What do you know about Lorath?” Melisandre asked abruptly.

“Er,” how odd! She knew she was supposed to know about Lorath. It was something… something… somewhere… She knew it, she was sure she did! Why wouldn’t the words come?

“I do not recall it either,” said Melisandre. For the first time ever, Selyse heard clear panic in her voice. “I have _visited_ it, and I cannot recall a thing! Asshai, I cannot remember Asshai! In this world, you and I are, so to say, our own faded paintings, Your Grace.”

“What does it mean?” Selyse, too, felt panic rising like bile in her throat.

“This world has no place for us.”

“But… but… then how… Oh! Shireen! What will happen to her? Shireen! Is she also going to turn… into this?”

“No, she is safe. I didn’t lie.”

Selyse breathed out with relief. However, Melisandre continued:

“As far as I could figure it out, the whole ultimate… _purpose_ … of this world is to give His Grace another wife.”

“What?” Selyse gaped. It was so terribly, completely, unfathomably absurd. She could understand a high purpose, a noble purpose, something to do with the Light – but _this_?!

“This world is not the only one like this,” Melisandre said. “I have consulted everything I could… There are many others. In other worlds, you ascend the throne without trouble. In yet other ones, you predecease King Robert. In many of them, I do not exist,” she chuckled faintly.

“What will happen to us, then?”

“We two are a nuisance to the world’s nature. One way or the other, we will be removed. Disgraced, executed… something.”

“His Grace would never execute either of us… would he?”

“I don’t know,” Melisandre whispered with actual fear. “This is why I suggest another way. We leave this world for another, more hospitable one. Maybe the original, the one we remember.”

“Is it possible?” Selyse asked.

“Yes. There is magic – old, difficult magic – that requires using fire and water to open a gate to another world.”

“Fire? But the ship…”

“It will have to sink, yes. Don’t worry, there is a way to ensure there will be no loss of life.”

Selyse pondered it for a while. That while wasn’t very long. Disgrace! Execution! The very mention of such words in connection with Lady Melisandre or herself revolted her.

“I agree,” she said. “I’ll go fetch Shireen, then.”

“Shireen will stay.”

“ _What_?”

“She isn’t alien in this world, so she can’t be removed from it.”

Gasping, Selyse sat on the bed. This was all too much.

“If we… don’t leave now… will I be parted from Shireen anyway?”

 _Disgraced. Executed. Something._ ****

“I’m sorry, Your Grace,” Melisandre sighed. “So very sorry.”

_Either leave now and let Shireen have a mother who drowned… or stay longer and risk being killed in disgrace. Alien in this world. Not much of a choice._

“Who is that lady?” she croaked, barely able to find her voice. “That other wife. Did you find it out?”

With Stannis, she didn’t care much: there was never any passion in their marriage. But since it concerned Shireen…

“Lady Sansa Stark,” said Melisandre.

That was at least some meager relief. The Starks were good-hearted – a bit too good-hearted, if the rumors were true. Selyse had already pictured some Dornish harlot or Tyroshi slavedriver poisoning Shireen’s mind. A Stark was a good choice. She could even see how the marriage would occur: the Stark boy would request it in exchange for bending the knee. Clear as day.

She sighed again, deeply:

“We’ll – we’ll go. I’m… I’ll just bid Shireen goodbye.”

She went to her daughter’s cabin and tiptoed in. Shireen was sleeping peacefully, with even a smile upon her face.

Usually not the one to display outward affection, Selyse kissed her on the forehead – very lightly, careful not to wake her up.

_Farewell, Shireen, our true Baratheon princess. May you be happy in this strange secondary world. Remember your duties as a princess, obey and honor your father and Lady Stark. Farewell._

“Do you swear Shireen will survive the sinking?” she asked sharply. “Because if not…”

“I swear she will survive,” Melisandre said firmly. “Are you ready, Your Grace?”

“Yes.”

About an hour later, there were a flash of reddish golden light and a crashing pearly-crested wave at the same time, but nobody saw it save for Selyse and Melisandre. If anyone had been looking at them at that moment, they would have seen the Queen and her advisor disappearing into some sort of door that looked like a shining rip in the air.

The ship, a huge hole burnt in it, quickly began to sink, but the crew raised the alarm in time.

Everyone on board, including Princess Shireen, was rescued. The only ones not among the survivors were Lady Melisandre and Queen Selyse. It was a bit strange, but their bodies had never been found either. 


End file.
